Seven Seas Beacon Fire

If you can't see the image, refresh the page. Actually, the constellation's aviation capabilities are quite decent.

Chapter 315 Even aircraft carriers must be penetrated and defended.

It is foreseeable that when the two "Dragon Phoenix" aircraft carriers are completed, it will certainly leave the top brass of other naval powers with a bewildered expression.

Li Che wasn't sure if other countries' navies would be able to react in time, but the Tang Dynasty navy would once again announce that it would deploy 280mm naval guns on its newly built aircraft carriers using a rear-mounted configuration.

Although it is unclear whether this level of deception will be effective, it doesn't matter if the Colombian Victoria Navy realizes what's going on. They certainly have more tricks up their sleeves than just this one.

Up to the point that the basic design schemes for "Dragon Phoenix" and "Dragon Soaring" were finalized, these two aircraft carriers, if we disregard their appearance which to some extent "cosplays" with Lexington from another world, are fundamentally different from the wives and sisters-in-law of that other world.

Compared to battleships or cruisers, aircraft carriers are probably one of the few warships whose appearance reveals a lot about them, since the flight deck, which is extremely important to an aircraft carrier, cannot be hidden.

The flight decks of aircraft carriers in this era were relatively simple, unlike the complex flight deck structures of later supercarriers. Military enthusiasts or professionals could make various speculations about the entire aircraft carrier's air traffic control capabilities from details such as the shape of the deck and the layout of the island superstructure.

Whether it's moving the bridge to the very back like the Ford-class aircraft carrier, or adopting a unique twin-island design like the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, these external features can directly reflect the aircraft carrier's air traffic control capabilities and design philosophy.

However, at present, the decks of aircraft carriers are still relatively "primitive".

However, even with these relatively primitive flight decks, people can still distinguish which aircraft carrier has a flight deck of more than 240 or 250 meters and which has a flight deck of less than 100 meters in length, and which one has a stronger aviation operation capability.

However, the interesting thing about aircraft carriers is that while you can distinguish many things from their appearance, there are also many things that you cannot tell from their appearance. In fact, judging them simply by their appearance can lead you astray.

It's the same old story: can a beginner imagine that a Lexington-class aircraft carrier with a full load displacement of over 4 tons has a hangar of only 2200 square meters?

This area is even smaller than that of the Yorktown-class aircraft carriers, which have a standard displacement of less than 2 tons. The Yorktown also has a hangar of 2863 square meters. The hangar area of ​​many aircraft carriers is often surprising to those who are just learning about this topic.

For example, the aircraft carrier USS Zeppelin, which has a relatively small rated aircraft capacity, has a hangar area of ​​4228 square meters, which is larger than the 3948 square meters of the Essex-class aircraft carriers.

排水量6万多吨的信浓号航空母舰的机库面积有4265平方米，但是吨位更小的大凤却有4957平方米，赤城如果把第3层机库算上的话那足足有5315平方米。

Do you think this is the largest hangar area for aircraft carriers in World War II? Well, as the best protected aircraft carrier in World War II, the Shokaku-class says that its 5660 square meters of hangar area is the pinnacle of World War II.

"Isn't our hangar a bit small?" Li Che asked, surprised, when Xu Yueming asked this question after looking at the blueprints. "You think this is small?"

While the hangar area of ​​the Ryuhō-class aircraft carrier is smaller than that of the Shōkaku and Akagi, this is because the Ryuhō-class does not use a double-deck hangar. Instead, it has a single hangar measuring 160 meters long and 26 meters wide, covering more than 4000 square meters, on its 260-meter hull. Since the elevators are located at the bow and stern of the hangar, the hangar area does not include the space created for the elevators, making it a solid 4120 square meters!

This is almost the same size as Shinano! It's even bigger than the Essex hangar. You still think this hangar is too small?

"So, how big do you think a hangar should be?"

Li Che couldn't help but ask with some curiosity. Xu Yueming's casual question had piqued his curiosity about what people in this era thought about the newly built aircraft carrier.

"It would be better if we could add another layer on top of the existing one," Xu Yueming tentatively stated. "I'm not entirely sure if that's feasible, but I think that if we remove the armor on the flight deck, appropriately reduce the height of the hangar, and add another hangar layer, theoretically it shouldn't have a significant impact on our center of gravity?"

"Oh ho, a double-hangar party member!" Li Che looked at Xu Yueming with even more appreciation. The reason he first discovered this guy was simply because of his relatively unconventional style, and compared to other officers of the same period, he was one of the few in this era who paid more attention to air force. Without Li Che's interference, he was able to innovatively use air force to conduct shore artillery calibration.

Therefore, regarding Xu Yueming's own thoughts, which differed from those of Li Che, the transmigrator, well, what was that saying again?

Man! You've piqued my interest!

"Keep talking."

"Although we have now achieved parity with the Colombian and Victorian navies on the surface, in reality the combat power of the Colombian Navy should include the Yingzhou Navy, and the combat power of the Victorian Royal Navy should also include the Bharat Navy. If we let them count their own subordinate forces, we are actually still at a disadvantage in terms of manpower."

If we are only at odds with one of these countries, our military strength is sufficient to meet our own national defense needs. However, if our naval power is used to retake Yingzhou in the future, or if we need to safeguard our maritime trade routes at greater distances, then our military strength will be quite strained. If we are to face both Colombia and Victoria simultaneously again, then our military strength will be severely limited.

Under such circumstances, I believe that in addition to building the main fleet, which is the foundation of the navy, we should take another step forward. His Highness is very optimistic about the future potential of naval aviation. He even deliberately created a trap for other countries in the restrictions on aircraft carriers during the negotiations of the naval treaty. However, Colombia and Victoria have aircraft carriers with the same tonnage as us. Even if our aircraft carriers have an advantage in aviation facilities compared to the aircraft carriers that other countries are building, I still doubt whether our advantage can offset the disadvantage of twice the manpower.

Not to mention, none of us know how long this strategic deception can last. When other countries discover that we haven't equipped their aircraft carriers with sufficiently large-caliber heavy artillery, will their future aircraft carriers still maintain this design? If they finally realize this in the future, won't our early air force advantage be overtaken?

No, under normal circumstances, as long as the Royal Air Force of Victoria performs normally, we don't actually need to worry too much about the threat from the Royal Naval Air Force of Victoria for quite some time.

Although Li Che silently complained in his heart, he still appreciated Xu Yueming's strong sense of crisis. After all, he didn't want to be surrounded by a group of bots who had no initiative.

"So you mean.............."

"We should carry as many aircraft as possible on our aircraft carriers. Since our aircraft carriers are not primarily used for gun battles, their strike capability is mainly based on combat aircraft. Therefore, we can only try our best to carry as many aircraft as possible on our limited aircraft carriers."

Li Che patted Xu Yueming on the shoulder with great admiration. To be honest, from the perspective of people in this era, Xu Yueming's understanding is already beyond the understanding of 99.9% of people in this era regarding naval aviation.

The power of an aircraft carrier is built upon its carrier-based aircraft. This alone puts a considerable number of people who view aircraft carriers as mere vanguard ships primarily for reconnaissance missions far behind. Although their understanding still carries the limitations that are unavoidable for people of this era, it is still commendable.

"If we add another hangar to our aircraft carrier, then the hangar area of ​​this carrier will probably be close to seven or eight thousand square meters. Even if the upper hangar is slightly smaller to control weight, I think the area will definitely be at least 6000 square meters, based on the size of our current carrier-based aircraft..."

"A single-engine aircraft can carry more than 150 aircraft." Xu Yueming clearly has a thorough understanding of the current aircraft of the naval aviation force.

"Yes, but don't you think 150 aircraft is a bit too crowded? Even with the length and width of our aircraft carrier's deck, how many aircraft can you handle taking off and landing at the same time?"

“This is my opinion, Your Highness,” Xu Yueming said. “First of all, aircraft are very fragile, especially during our navy’s long-range operations in the open ocean. Even in routine flights, patrols and reconnaissance missions, aircraft wear and tear is unavoidable. The aircraft in the hangar are like the shells in the ammunition depot of a battleship; they must always be well stocked.”

Ah, what a brilliant idea, and what a simple thought that fits the times!

"But even so, 150 aircraft is still far too many."

"In reality, there won't be that many, because the payload that single-engine aircraft can carry is currently very limited. If we want to effectively carry larger torpedoes and bombs to cause damage to large surface ships, our aircraft carriers need to carry twin-engine aircraft. This would significantly reduce our aircraft capacity. Given the size of those twin-engine aircraft, it's not impossible for the number of aircraft we carry to be halved."

"And Your Highness, didn't you say before that airplanes always get bigger as aircraft engines develop? An aircraft carrier in the navy will serve for at least 20 years, right? Considering the speed of aircraft development during wartime, even a single-engine aircraft a decade or so from now will be much larger than our current single-engine aircraft."

Potter, you actually used my magic against me?

Hmph! Although you are already a genius, that's the limitation of our times!

Li Che simply smiled and shook his head: "Your line of thinking is correct, but we have many other ways to achieve the same goal. First, there's the issue of spare aircraft, which can actually be solved by hanging tickets. We can hang the aircraft parts and some spare aircraft on the top of the hangar. The hangar height of our aircraft carrier is quite good, so it's entirely possible to park aircraft below the hangar while simultaneously hoisting some aircraft parts and spare aircraft from the top."

Although the Tang Dynasty's "Dragon Phoenix" differed fundamentally from the Lexington-class aircraft carriers in its structural modifications, and while both appeared to have a single, massive funnel, the Tang Dynasty's hangar deck was separated from the original battlecruiser's main deck by an additional deck level. The flue, originating from the boiler room, curved along this deck before converging below the main funnel.

This way, the hangar ultimately located on this deck can avoid the influence of the smoke duct, minimize the impact of the smoke duct on the area, and avoid the situation where the hangar cannot extend as far forward and backward as possible due to the rapidly narrowing part of the battlecruiser's hull. While this results in a larger hangar area, the corresponding hangar height is not as high as that of the Lexington.

However, the hangar height of the historical Lexington was a bit too high, even higher than the hangar height of post-war supercarriers. This excessive height was somewhat wasteful, so the height of the Ryuho's hangar did not prevent the addition of spare aircraft internally through the method of hanging tickets.

"Furthermore, if we want to increase the number of aircraft, we can also tie some aircraft directly to the deck. In short, we have many ways to increase the number of aircraft without increasing the number of hangar levels. However, if you add a higher deck, we would probably have to remove the armor of the flight deck for the sake of the center of gravity. That is our real secret weapon."

Li Che tapped the shaded area marked with red diagonal lines on the blueprint with his knuckles: "Since our naval aviation may face more enemies in the future, shouldn't we pay more attention to the survivability of our aircraft carriers and the maintenance capabilities of our aviation facilities? If our flight decks can be easily hit by a few 100-kilogram or 250-kilogram bombs and lose their ability to take off and land, what's the point of having a lot of spare aircraft in the hangar?"

Chapter 316 The Sword Struck at the Blue Star Flag (1)

Unlike some novels on free online novel websites that are all wish-fulfillment stories, Xu Yueming didn't immediately get excited like a Go fanatic who had discovered a "divine move" after Li Che emphasized the damage resistance of the armored aircraft carrier. Li Che could tell that Xu Yueming didn't quite understand or agree with it, but perhaps because of his own status and maybe because he also felt that it made some sense, two completely different ideas were clashing in his mind at this moment.

Although Li Che felt that if it weren't for his own status, Xu Yueming might not have been able to listen to his opinions about armored aircraft carriers, at least for the time being.

"Any questions?"

Li Che wouldn't mind giving Xu Yueming a good "instruction" today. If I, the Crown Prince, were to actually command a fleet in battle, I'd probably earn the infamous title of "Little Zhao Kuo of the Sea." But if you're talking about theoretical strategizing, then my abilities in that area are certainly not to be underestimated...

"For aircraft carriers... to be precise, for all large surface ships, isn't the threat of torpedoes greater?" Xu Yueming was indeed straightforward; he asked him whatever he was asked.

"In terms of the threat after a hit, torpedoes are indeed more threatening," Li Che admitted. "After all, torpedoes explode underwater. Even with the same explosive, water is more difficult to compress than air, so it naturally poses a greater threat to the ship. But as the saying goes, if you can't hit it, it's meaningless."

"Does Your Highness think that torpedo bombers are more difficult to hit than bombers?" Xu Yueming pondered the conditions under which torpedo bombers could launch their torpedoes. Although limited by the fragility of aerial torpedoes, torpedoes could only be launched at speeds of several tens of knots and a height of a few meters above the sea surface. Whether the speed was too fast or the altitude too high, the torpedoes could be destroyed during the process of entering the water.

It might sink to the bottom, fail to launch at all, or have a problem with the torpedo's fuse.

“Of course, torpedoes are indeed a decisive weapon, but the conditions for using torpedoes are also more demanding. In comparison, attacking with bombs first to damage or even slow down the warship, and then using torpedoes to finish it off, is a more efficient approach,” Li Che said.

"But... although torpedoes have all sorts of problems, bombs aren't much more accurate than torpedoes, are they?"

Xu Yueming had also observed the Army Aviation's aircraft conducting bombing training against ground targets. The results of the training were rather disappointing. It basically relied on experienced pilots and multiple aircraft in close formation to drop bombs, covering the pre-set target area. Even so, it relied more on the damage from bomb fragments and shock waves.

That's the level of precision when an aircraft is conducting horizontal bombing. Even the most experienced pilots cannot guarantee that they can accurately drop bombs on a specific area. Although warships on the sea are larger and theoretically easier to hit than point targets on land, warships at sea are also moving!

"Didn't some Army Aviation pilots discover a trick to improve bombing accuracy? I think Navy Aviation pilots should already know about this trick, right?"

"Your Highness means shallow dive bombing?" Xu Yueming nodded. "That's right. And next month, the naval aviation is preparing to conduct a public demonstration. The navy is using a dreadnought that, according to treaty requirements, should be decommissioned. Our pilots will carry bombs to this dreadnought for bombing tests to examine the aircraft's ability to attack warships. They are currently intensifying their training, which can indeed improve bombing accuracy to some extent... but..."

"But I still feel it's not quite there yet; it doesn't have the high precision I imagined, or rather, the high precision I ideally need."

“Yes, Your Highness,” Xu Yueming said. “Considering the huge difference between the destructive effect of a bomb after it is hit, especially against heavily armored targets, and that of a torpedo, even the hit rate achieved by using this shallow dive technique is not enough to offset the difference in their power.”

"This is simply because our current aircraft performance is too poor. Shallow dive bombing accuracy is higher than horizontal bombing, and the structural strength of our current aircraft is not sufficient to support our aircraft to conduct dive bombing at greater angles. However, in the future, our aircraft will eventually be able to conduct more precise dive bombing at greater angles."

At that point, these bombs would play a crucial role. Even if they couldn't directly sink the battleship, a large number of bombs hitting it could damage the ship's surface facilities, especially its anti-aircraft and fire control systems. If they hit the funnel, they would also have a significant impact on the propulsion system. The power of the missing bombs was more like hitting a small torpedo. Once the battleships were shattered on the surface, torpedo bombers could then easily and efficiently send them completely into the sea.

Li Che vividly described to Xu Yueming his ideal vision of carrier-based aircraft attack methods for the future. This systematic idea sounded more practical than the wild fantasies of other young officers he had heard at the Naval Aviation Club.

"So Your Highness means that with the continuous improvement of their performance, future aircraft will be able to dive at greater angles... and with a much higher hit rate than now, dive bombing will be the greatest threat to warships?"

"To be precise, for aircraft carriers, dive bombing is the biggest threat," Li Che said. "If our aircraft carriers were to engage enemy fleets in a future war, what targets do you think our carrier-based air force should strike first?"

After pondering for a moment, Xu Yueming replied confidently, "It must be an aircraft carrier. As long as we destroy the enemy's aircraft carrier, our aircraft carrier can always remain outside the range of the enemy's naval guns and carry out safe attacks."

"That's right. So the first thing an aircraft carrier needs to consider is attacking enemy aircraft carriers. However, compared to traditional capital ships, aircraft carriers generally have higher speeds, better rudder efficiency, and are easier to evade torpedoes. Not to mention that anti-aircraft fire is more effective against torpedo bombers that attack close to the waterline. Under these circumstances, dive bombing has a higher success rate of penetrating defenses from high altitudes and a higher hit rate."

As Li Che spoke, he recalled the Battle of Midway in another world and patiently guided Xu Yueming: "Do you think that in this situation, apart from the carrier's own escort aircraft and the carrier's own maneuvering to evade, it is possible to intercept a large number of dive bombers swooping down from high altitude using anti-aircraft firepower?"

Xu Yueming thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. The time it takes for a plane to dive from high altitude to complete the bombing is only a few dozen seconds, which is a very short time window for air defense firepower.

In particular, according to His Highness's plan, the dive angle of aircraft will be further increased in the future. The greater the angle, the more difficult it will be to intercept. If we also consider that there will be more than one aircraft diving down, then unless the enemy dive bombers are shot down before they enter the attack route, when they start to dive, the aircraft carrier can not really rely on its own maneuvering to evade them.

"So now, do you think the double-layered hangar is more important, or the armor is more important?"

"According to Your Highness's vision, the armor plating on the flight deck is indeed very important, but I still reserve my own opinion that the double-layered hangar is equally important. As for what is right, I think time will tell."

Li Che nodded in satisfaction. He never expected to change the tactical thinking of a front-line officer with just a few words. If a commander could be so easily swayed by words, then such a soft-hearted guy clearly did not have the potential to become an excellent fleet commander.

True fruit can only grow in real soil. Only after the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty has these two or more aircraft carriers in service and has tried different technical routes in the process of aircraft carrier development, will they be able to summarize what is correct and what is suitable for them.

He was not prepared to forcefully impart his extensive experience gained on the internet in another world to the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy, because he always understood that he was ultimately just a theorist, and much of the experience useful to country A was poison to country B.

For example, why were Royal Navy aircraft carriers not particularly fond of deck mooring and open hangars, and only started using deck mooring to increase aircraft capacity after arriving in the Pacific at the end of the war?

Try sending the US aircraft carrier to the North Atlantic twice, and it'll be a disaster for them.

For Royal Navy sailors, the North Atlantic was almost identical to the Yellow River, the mother river of China.

"Alright, once these two aircraft carriers are completed, you will personally serve as the captain of one of them for a period of time. You will have plenty of time and means to put it into practice then. Let's talk about the performance you're going to put on next month first."

“That’s not a performance, Your Highness. We’re treating this as a test.”

“Testing is sometimes part of the performance, and it is related to the future development of naval aviation. Although I know you are an honest person, sometimes we can also have some alternative plans.”

Li Che attempted to impart some less-than-honorable methods to Xu Yueming. Of course, such bluffing was unacceptable during routine training, but demonstrations concerning the future direction of the navy were absolutely crucial and failure was not an option.

“Your Highness, if we plant explosives on the ship in advance, it will probably be noticed. Whether the bombs land or not will eventually be seen by people.”

“I didn’t ask you to plant explosives on the ship.” Li Che tapped his chest with his hand: “You could have opened all the watertight doors beforehand.”

"what?"

"You could even consider replacing the ship with a quasi-dreadnought. Those ships have even worse underwater protection, and a missed shot from Jing could probably have a destructive effect no less than a direct hit. By the way, who's in charge of this target ship?"

"It was prepared by the South Sea Fleet, and it should be almost ready now. The next step is to tow it to its designated location," Xu Yueming said.

"Southern Fleet?" Li Che frowned slightly upon hearing these four words. The current fleet organization of the Tang Dynasty Royal Navy has undergone significant adjustments compared to the original fleet organization of the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy. During the Ming Dynasty, the navy was basically divided into the Beiyang Fleet and the Southern Fleet, while the current Tang Dynasty Royal Navy consists of the Beiyang Fleet, the Eastern Fleet, and the Southern Fleet. Most of the ships and personnel that originally belonged to the Yanping Navy have been incorporated into the Southern Fleet.

Although the former Yanping Navy no longer exists as an independent combat force, more than half of the current naval personnel are from the original "Borneo lineage," which directly leads to the current Nanyang Fleet being somewhat unfamiliar with the other two ocean fleets in many personnel matters.

"Are the officers in charge of this area easy to talk to? Could we find a chance to board that target ship and take a look?"

Xu Yueming was sweating profusely as Li Che pressed him for answers. This imperial grandson was completely unconcerned about "cheating on exams" in order to promote the development of naval aviation.

“Your Highness, I’m not very familiar with those officers in the South Seas, but Ling Xiao has dealt with them quite a bit. Anyway, according to him… those guys are all crazy, and the atmosphere in the entire South Seas fleet, from top to bottom, is not quite normal right now… I’m not speaking ill of them behind their backs. If you were to come into contact with them, you might agree with this view.”

"The atmosphere isn't quite right?" Li Che asked, somewhat puzzled. "What exactly is wrong with it?"

“From the end of last year until now, the officers and soldiers of the South Sea Fleet have been training according to the monthly water, fire, wood, metal and metal method. Their training intensity is really too strong. Our colleagues here are actually very worried that they will damage the sailors by training them like this.”

Well, to put it simply, from their perspective, I can understand them. After all, we all know what the Colombians have done on the island, and the entire Yanping area is yearning for revenge. However… have you seen a set of drawings that their design bureau submitted to us?”

P.S.: Showing off the Dragon Phoenix-class aircraft carrier, Mrs. Tang!

Chapter 317 The Sword Struck at the Blue Star Flag (2)

"Although I am very interested in the navy, how could I possibly look at every single drawing in the naval design bureau? Even just looking at the sketches, I couldn't possibly keep up. How could one drawing reveal the general trend?"

Li Che asked dismissively, in his view, even if there might be some technical disagreements, it shouldn't escalate to a matter of conduct.

After all, although the Borneo navy officers and soldiers were not affiliated with the Ming navy, their style and training level were still quite good. Although their scale had never been very large in the past and they had not purchased many large surface ships, the quality of their naval officers and soldiers was quite qualified both before and during the war.

Moreover, setting aside combat quality, the Borneo Navy has never had any negative news in the past. The military has neither engaged in private business that affects training, nor has it had various personnel running rampant in the logistics sector to line their own pockets.

What problems could possibly arise in the conduct of such an army in such a short period of time, right after the war ended?

"Does Your Highness think there are loopholes in the treaty that can be exploited?" Xu Yueming seemed to be asking an unrelated question.

"Exploiting loopholes in the treaty?" Li Che pursed his lips; this was a very interesting topic.

First of all, from a macro perspective, whether in this world or another, since all countries are willing to sit down and sign this treaty together, then in fact, the top naval officers of each country are the biggest defenders of the treaty. Unless the treaty has reached a point where the balance between countries can no longer be maintained and the contradictions can no longer be concealed, countries will naturally not break the treaty on a large scale.